When the NFL offseason began, the Kansas City Chiefs were faced with two significant financial commitments in the near future—one on offense and one on defense. Both wide receiver Tyreek Hill and defensive lineman Chris Jones were expected to be the next ones to get paid serious dollars by the franchise, the financial pains of hitting on homegrown talent, and the only questions concerned when those deals might get done.
It wasn’t long however until the bombshell was dropped about Hill, namely that his home was ground zero for the site of multiple investigations for child abuse and child neglect. Not only were local law enforcement suddenly involved but the Department for Children and Families was as well. Hill’s three-year-old son was removed from the home, and both the wideout and his fiancee, Crystal Espinal, were in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
It wasn’t long before the idea of an extension seemed ridiculous. Instead of asking questions about how long the team would commit to Hill, it became a question of if the team would be committed to Hill. He was suspended from participating in any team activities in the interim, and the possibility of an NFL suspension still lingers overhead. Any talk of extension was off the table, a shift which left Jones as the only one awaiting a payday.
The legal investigation surrounding Hill has subsided, and it’s clear at this point that the situation itself is complex with a lot of details unknown in the public domain. While the smoke is far from clear, Hill’s stock is also not as volatile as initially feared.
What’s amazing is how quickly this whole thing has boomeranged. Look at the following quote from Yahoo! Sports reporter Terez Paylor, who wrote the following during an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit:
"I think Jones will get an extension if Tyreek Hill doesn’t agree to one. But if Hill does get an extension — which would probably be team-friendly, at this point — I could see them slapping the franchise tag on Jones."
The Chiefs and Tyreek Hill are mentioned in the same sentence as “extension.” Weeks ago, that seemed like such a silly notion. Now, Paylor is asking the same questions that were being asked when the offseason first started. We’re back to when these contracts will get signed, and it’s possible that Hill might receive one before Jones.
Given the rollercoaster ride of the offseason and the overall drama of the coverage, it’s hard to believe this is even a possibility, yet here we are. The negotiations might be much trickier than before but the fact they can even be expected to still take place is quite a shocking turnaround.